


Lest We Forget

by BinaryIsForRobots, Tius



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adult Content, Age Difference, Altered Mental States, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Bad Ending, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Collaboration, Danzo is the literal worst, Dark Uzumaki Naruto, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Roller Coaster, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, Found Family, Fucked Up, Gaslighting, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mental Breakdown, Mental Coercion, Mental Disintegration, Mental Instability, Mind Rape, Multi, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, One-Sided Attraction, Other, Panic Attacks, Power Imbalance, Protective Uchiha Itachi, Sad Ending, The Author Regrets Everything, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Triggers, Uchiha Massacre, for real, precocious crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 06:38:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17523713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BinaryIsForRobots/pseuds/BinaryIsForRobots, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tius/pseuds/Tius
Summary: Itachi is painfully aware that his memory is fickle. He's even more painfully aware that the things that he's forgotten are things he's better off not remembering.(Danzo has decided Itachi is of more use remaining in Konoha than leaving it. This sudden change of plans has unintended consequences.)





	1. change of plans

**Author's Note:**

> As the tags may have clued you in, this story will be dark. Painfully so. Please proceed with caution.  
> Comments, kudos, and subscriptions are deeply appreciated <3

Itachi looks everywhere else in the cramped, poorly-lit room but at the old man towering over him as he kneels on the stone floor. Danzo looks him over with an eagle eye, an air of smug satisfaction about him.

“It’ll be finished after tonight,” he reassures the boy. “You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

 _Liar,_ Itachi hisses in his head, but doesn't dare say aloud.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Danzo gesture for him to stand. Though his limbs are full of concrete, despite the room spinning around him, Itachi manages to rise to his feet. Danzo cups the boy’s cheek in his hand, in a mockery of an affectionate gesture.

“You’ve made the right decision,” he says, forcing Itachi’s head to turn to face him. “Then again, I always knew you would.”

Itachi shuts his eyes tightly so that he doesn't have to look at the man. Judging by the way Danzo’s fingers dig into his cheek, he doesn't like that one bit.

“...I suppose you’ll be leaving us once everything is said and done.”

After a painful moment’s hesitation, Itachi manages to nod. There’s another long stretch of silence, while an idea forms in the man’s mind.

“Or...perhaps we could create a different arrangement.”

Surprise makes Itachi open his eyes.

“Hm. It’s a longshot, but with a bit of luck I think we could manage it. You’ve never been one to let high odds stop you, after all…”

“What-”

“-since you insist on leaving your brother alive, someone will need to look after him, won’t they?”

“I…”

Something that might charitably be called a smile curls Danzo’s mouth.

“I’m willing to let you do that, Itachi. You’ve done so well after all.”

“But how?” Itachi asks, cursing himself for how feeble his voice sounds. “After I- how could I ever-”

“-Shh. You don’t need to worry about that.”

With the hand not caressing the boy’s face, Danzo undoes the bandaging over his left eye. Itachi’s black eyes go wide, blood freezing inside him when he’s greeted by the Mangekyou Sharingan he knows all too well.

(No. Not Danzo’s eye. Shisui’s eye. _The eye that Danzo stole._ )

“Danzo-sama, I-’

“-You’ll be alright. When it’s over, _you_ won’t even know you did it. You’ll be able to keep that pet little brother of yours. It’ll be like nothing ever happened. Won’t that be good?”

Itachi presses his mouth tightly shut, for fear of saying something he’ll regret later.

His heart throws itself against his sternum like a caged animal wanting free. He _knows,_ he _knows_ what’s happening- what Danzo just did to him- just as much as he knows there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

Mercifully, the man _finally_ takes his hand off Itachi’s cheek. He does a few well-practiced seals, and, in the back of his mind, Itachi wonders if Danzo has been planning this for awhile.

The chill of the room hits his overheated skin when Danzo pulls his headband away. His hand has an eerie sort of glow to it when it presses against his forehead.

“It’ll be alright. You don’t have to remember a thing.”

An awful buzzing floods Itachi’s head, making him flinch in discomfort.

“What did you-”

Danzo merely jerks his head in the direction of Itachi’s discarded headband.

“Go home, Itachi. Tonight’s a busy night for you.”

 

* * *

 

A busy night indeed.

The air in the Uchiha compound is thick with the stench of blood and death, utter silence filling the void where screams rung out so soon before. Numbness settles into Itachi’s bones, as the weight of what he’s just done presses heavily on his soul.

His mother is already dead. His father very nearly so. Along with anyone else Itachi called family.

Except, of course-

“ _Niisan!_ ”

Sasuke’s voice is shrill, panicked. And why wouldn’t it be? He can hear it growing closer- he’ll be here soon. Far too soon for his liking.

Itachi’s heart forgets it should be beating. That awful buzzing fills his head again, harsh and almost painful.

And speaking of pain-

The white-hot lightning that shoots through his middle gets Itachi to look down. His fingers are curled around a kunai, which is currently buried in his stomach, and Itachi vaguely wonders when he’d done that. Then, he feels the cool wooden floor beneath his cheek, and also wonders when he’d fallen.

He doesn't get the chance to wonder that for long, however.

“Niisan! Niisan what’s going on?!”

Itachi opens his mouth, only for blood to pour out instead of words.

“Niisan!” Sasuke shrieks, falling to his knees and shaking his older brother. “Niisan, what happened?!”

Though his vision keeps fading in and out, Itachi manages to find Sasuke’s hand and grab it with all his failing strength.

(Is it sick, Itachi wonders, to be happy Sasuke is here to hold?)

He hears Sasuke screaming at him, but he can’t make out the words.

 

He must’ve lost consciousness for awhile after that, because the next thing he knows, there’s at least a dozen people in the room.

“Don’t touch him!” Sasuke howls, throwing himself over his older brother.

“Out of the way!” another voice demands.

“I won’t let you hurt my Niisan!”

“I said get out of the way or we’ll throw you out!”

“He’s my big brother! Stay away!”

“Fucking brat- he said move!”

“Cut that out right now. What are you gonna gain by scaring a kid to death?”

_That voice._

Itachi struggles to get his vision to focus enough to find Kakashi.

“We’re here to help your brother. Nobody’s gonna hurt him any worse- we just need to see what happened.”

Hatake Kakashi. Always trying to be the levelheaded one. Itachi would smile if he had the strength.

Grudgingly, Sasuke moves aside. Kakashi rolls Itachi onto his back; Itachi can’t seem to focus on much of anything. Itachi feels pressure against his abdomen- probably Kakashi trying to stop the bleeding.

“Stop standing around like a bunch of slack jawed idiots and get a damn medic over here!” he barks at the men behind him.

That finally seems to spur them into action, sending them running out to find help.

“Itachi. Itachi you look at me right now.”

Kakashi’s masked face swims in and out of focus- Itachi nearly pukes from the sudden wave of vertigo that washes over him.

“Hang on. You’ll be okay. Just hang in there, alright?”

Itachi fades out of consciousness for another short while, the pain simply too great to bear. When he comes around again, he registers that he’s no longer bleeding, and that he’s being carried out of the house, cradled as though he were an infant.

Someone Itachi assumes is a medic is talking to Kakashi in a hushed, worried tone. He can’t make out the words, but he hears the Hokage’s startled voice join in with the other two.

His vision is too muddled to make out anything specific, but the sudden flood of bright white light lets him know they’ve arrived at the hospital.

More raised voices. He is aware he’s being jostled around, poked and prodded at. He hears screams- horrible, high-pitched, desperate screams- and it takes far longer than it should for him to realize that he’s the one making them.

There’s a small prick in his arm, and the world goes blessedly black once more.

 

* * *

 

The first thing Itachi feels when he wakes up is _pain._

Pain in his abdomen. Pain in his heavy limbs. Pain in his sandpaper-dry throat. Pain in his eyes when the room’s lights blind him. But most of all, an overwhelming, all-consuming agony inside his head- like a living creature is trying to break out of his skull.

Once again his voice fails him when he tries to speak, and all he can muster is a feeble groan.

“Well good morning, sunshine. I was starting to wonder when you’d wake up.”

Itachi lets out another groan- the tone of which makes his confusion quite plain. He turns his head in the direction of Kakashi’s voice; the man pokes his head up from behind a book, and he manages his best fake smile.

“You went into shock right when we got you here. Scared the hell outta some of the staff. You’ve been out for a couple days now.”

A fake laugh to accompany the fake smile.

“The medic that treated you on-site got an earful- you almost bled out internally, y’know. I think they had to do three transfusions on ya to get you out of the woods.”

Itachi blinks, the words coming to him as if through a thick fog.

Finally, he manages to choke out some words of his own.

“...Sasuke...where…?”

“He’s at my place- don’t worry, I’ve got good guys looking after him. It just wasn’t good for him to be hanging around here- he wouldn’t sleep and he wasn’t eating anything, and it was really hard for the doctors to work on you with him underfoot. Kid’s real protective of you. I suppose that’s normal though. You two are the only ones who made it through.”

Itachi nods his understanding.

“I knew you’d pull through. But you really scared me, you know.”

Itachi lets his head roll backward.

“...Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’ve been through a lot.”

Itachi frowns. And though he’s not looking at the man, Itachi knows Kakashi is frowning now, too.

“Itachi...what happened back there?

“I-”

Trying to take his mind back there causes the pressure in Itachi’s head rises sharply, drawing out a cry of agony. He clutches the side of his skull like that could relieve the pressure.

“-I-I don’t remember,” he chokes out, his body starting to shake.

“Itachi your entire clan was just _murdered._ How do you not remember anything?”

Itachi curls up on his side, grabbing fistfuls of tangled, dark hair.

“I said I _don’t remember,_ ” he moans. “I remember- I remember their bodies- I remember all their voices- I remember all the blood and I remember people dying but I _don’t remember what happened_.”

With a sigh, Kakashi sets his book aside.

“...Sorry. I didn’t mean to get you worked up.”

Kakashi stands up and heads toward the door.

“I’ll get you some water or something. That’ll help a little.”

Before he can even touch the handle, however, the door swings open of its own accord. A flustered nurse follows Danzo and the Sandaime in, an older Yamanaka woman following closely behind.

“-really shouldn’t be having visitors right now-” the nurse protests weakly, but neither of the old men pay her any mind.

“Itachi, are you alright?” Sarutobi asks, his voice hoarse and heavy with an emotion Kakashi can’t identify.

The boy tries to pull himself upright, lets out a sharp whimper, and falls back down onto the mattress, wrapping his arms around his middle.

“He’s in a bit of a bad state right now,” Kakashi says, stepping back toward the bed. “If you’re here to interrogate him it’s really not a good time.”

“He’s not being interrogated,” Danzo says, in a condescending tone like he were speaking to an unruly child. “He’s being interviewed.”

“Eh? Interviewed?”

“As a witness to a massacre, yes.”

Hiruzen bows his head, approaching Itachi cautiously- like he were some feral animal.

“Itachi,” he says, carefully, softly, “what happened?”

“I already said _I don’t remember,_ ” the boy hisses, with an amount of venom that’s entirely unlike his usual self.

The Hokage shoots Danzo a look that would make a lesser man flinch. Shimura merely turns to the unfortunate Yamanaka woman lingering in the doorway.

“Well. Let’s see if we can jog your memory, shall we?”

Before Itachi can really count one and one together, the woman has performed the seal, and the boy goes limp like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Wait- what are you-”

Kakashi never gets a chance to finish the sentence. A scream tears out of Itachi’s lungs that he didn’t think such a frail child to be capable of.  He thrashes about so violently he tears the IV out of the crook of his left elbow Kakashi and the (considerably frightened) nurse grab him by each arm to pin him down.

The Yamanaka woman emerges, ghost-white and more than a little unnerved. The nurse snaps herself to attention to patch up itachi’s bloodied arm.

“Well?”

The woman shakes her head.

“I- there’s no way that could be right-”

She throws her hands outward in a gesture of utter confusion.

“There’s nothing there. A total blank. I’ve never seen anything like it-”

To Kakashi’s puzzlement, Danzo doesn't seem upset by that at all.

“Well then, it seems he’s being honest with us. We’ll have to take our investigation elsewhere.”

“...I said I don’t remember,” Itachi whimpers, casting a look of betrayal at Sarutobi.

“We’ll leave him to his rest then,” Danzo says. Perfectly calm, as if a terrified child isn’t hyperventilating not five feet from him.

“Danzo-sama, i don’t think you understand-” the Yamanaka woman protests, following the hokage and his advisor out of the room. “This isn’t _normal-_ it’s like a black hole just sucked part of his memory out! That just doesn't happen!”

“As we’ve just seen, evidently it does.” is Danzo’s curt reply.

She continues to argue her case while their voices fade away. Kakashi slumps back into his chair, rubbing his temples and trying to process what’s just happened.

“M-maybe I should bring you a sedative,” the nurse offers. “It’ll steady your nerves.”

“...please,” Itachi croaks.

Within moments, the nurse retrieves three small green tablets and a glass of water. Ever trusting, Itachi accepts the medication, fumbling a little with shaking hands before he gets it down. Throwing the covers over his head, he lays back down with a sigh.

“...When can I see Sasuke?” he asks, desperate for anything else to occupy his thoughts.

“When we know for sure you’re not gonna keel over on us,” Kakashi answers. “And when we know Sasuke isn’t gonna try to stab anyone who gets within ten feet of you.”

A low sound of frustration rumbles in Itachi’s chest.

“I know it sucks. But I promise it won’t be forever. Just til we know you’re gonna be okay. Then I’ll take you back to my apartment and we’ll go from there, alright?”

Yes, Kakashi. Always trying so hard to be the rational one. Itachi can’t argue, so decides to simply sulk instead.

When about ten minutes pass, the sedatives start to take effect, making him groggy and his body feel heavy.  He answers the call of oblivion, grateful to fall asleep once more.

 

* * *

 

_Bang! Crash!_

"You're not Niisan! Get _out_!"

“Please calm down-’

“Where’s my brother?! I want my brother! _Give me back my brother_!”

Sasuke hurls a book at the intruder in Kakashi’s apartment, missing his head by millimeters. He screams incoherently when the man stubbornly steps forward.

“I just need to talk to you for a second-”

“I don’t wanna talk to anyone except my big brother!” Sasuke howls, overturning a side table, sending a folder of papers flying in all directions.

Forever unruffled, Pakkun gets up and walks toward him, putting a paw on Sasuke’s leg.

“Hey.”

Sasuke snaps back to reality, head jerking around to face the small dog.

“He’s not the bad guy, okay? Take a breath.”

The child heeds Pakkun’s admonishment, taking in a great, shaky breath. Then, he nods.

“Forgive him,” Pakkun tells the flustered shinobi. “He’s had a bad couple days.”

“I understand. Now, Sasuke- why don’t you sit down? We just need to talk about a few things.”

Grudgingly, Sasuke follows the man to sit at the tiny kitchen table. The man pulls out a notebook and a pen, keeping a wary eye on the boy the whole time. Both Pakkun and Buru follow, sitting on either side of Sasuke.

“Sasuke, do you think you can tell me what happened a few nights ago?”

Buru lays his massive head on Sasuke’s lap; Sasuke pets him to keep himself grounded.

“...I stayed late after school,” he begins. “To do some extra shuriken training. I didn’t realize how long it’d been until I noticed it got dark, so I ran home. I knew Mom was gonna be so mad at me…”

His vision goes blurry, eyes burning as emotions he can’t stop well up inside him.

“When I got back, there was blood everywhere. Windows got smashed and people were lying around in the street...I knew they were...they were all dead. Nobody was breathing…”

The man scribbles notes furiously, silently urging him to go on.

“I knew Niisan was supposed to get back from a mission that night, so I tried to find him, but-”

His breath hitches violently.

“-When I found him, s-someone had stabbed him, and he was all cut up and I thought he was dead too, but when I touched him he grabbed my hand and-”

Sasuke hugs Buru’s head tightly, unable to go on, and dissolves into helpless tears.

“So you didn’t see anyone else there?” the man prompts, gently.

The boy shakes his head.

“Do you know anyone who might have wanted to hurt your family?”

“Nu-uh. Nobody.”

The man scratches down a few more notes.

“When can I see Itachi?” Sasuke demands imperiously, still clinging to Buru, who allows it without complaint.

“I’ll talk to the hospital about that. It’ll be soon, just bear with us for awhile.”

The man tries to ask more questions, but Sasuke is far too wound up to give coherent answers; eventually, he gives up.

Pakkun quickly ushers the beleaguered shinobi out the door, while Buru urges Sasuke back toward the futon and forcing him to lie down.

“I want my big brother,” he pouts, making futile attempts to wipe the tears off his round cheeks.

“You’ll see him soon,” Pakkun promises. “Just hang in there.”

It’s not enough to stop his crying.

 

“How’s he doing?”

“He finally fell asleep. Poor kid isn’t coping well at all.”

“Well that much doesn't surprise me.”

Pakkun trots along beside Kakashi while he makes his way to the fridge and pulls out an eclectic assortment of leftovers and starts eating them cold.

“And what about Itachi?” the dog asks. “How’s he been?”

“Ibiki grilled him for a good two hours,” Kakashi growls. “But it was the same as when Oriko poked around in his memories. He finally let it go when he started screaming for the third time.”

Pakkun lets out an exasperated sigh.

“So what do we do?” he asks.

Kakashi shrugs.

“I’ll worry about that tomorrow.”

Pakkun stretches out and yawns.

“Probably for the best.”

Kakashi rubs his eyes and lets out a weary sigh.

Tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow will be better. He’ll bring Itachi here. He and Sasuke can see each other again. They can deal with whatever comes next then.


	2. Adaptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarutobi continues to suck. Kakashi needs a wheelbarrow to cart his massive testicles out of Danzo's office

Kakashi alternates between wondering if this sudden burst of boldness is the result of abject stupidity, or merely an unexpected burst of resolve.

Regardless of which it is, here he stands- in Danzo’s dim and rather austere office. With both Danzo and the Hokage standing in front of him. After flat-out  _ demanding _ this meeting with the two of them. He clutches the folder of paperwork in his hand and decides to get right to the point.

“I’m taking them with me.”

Danzo’s eye narrows dangerously. Hiruzen merely looks confused.

“Kakashi, what are you-”

“-I’ve already put in all the guardianship paperwork. As long as Itachi is willing to sign off on it, he and Sasuke are gonna come live with me from now on.”

“What’s gotten into you?!” Hiruzen demands.

“Where else are they gonna go? I’m not letting them go back to that house,and who else is gonna take them in?”

“And how does a man in your position go about taking care of two children out of nowhere?” Danzo inquires, his voice low, and dangerous.

“I’m glad you asked!”

Kakashi dares to smile, hoping Shimura spots it from under his mask, and  gets the defiance in that gesture.

“Turns out, my dad wasn’t bad with money- he had some stashed away that he’d never told anyone about. It’s not a ton, but it’ll keep us comfy while I take a leave of absence to get Itachi back together. Oh- by the way, I’m taking a leave of absence. I’ve got all the paperwork for that too if you want it.”

Danzo’s expression is carefully blank, but the way his hands curl up tightly around his cane betrays the fact that he isn’t fond of Kakashi’s newfound spine.

Hiruzen, on the other hand-

“Well, it looks like you’re heart-set on this,” he relents, with a small sigh. 

“That’s right.” Kakashi replies. 

“So why ask our permission?” Danzo asks.

“With all due respect- I’m not asking. I’m telling you this is what’s happening.”

Kakashi says these words with another smile, and can practically see Danzo’s blood boiling under his skin.

(Although exactly  _ why  _ he’s so livid isn’t quite clear.)

“Will there be anything else?” Hiruzen asks, sensing the tense atmosphere.

“No, Hokage-sama. That’s all.”

To Kakashi’s surprise, Sarutobi raises his hand to cut Danzo off when he opens his mouth to speak.

“That’s that settled, then.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Kakashi makes his exit from the room, heart bursting from his chest.

Never, ever,  _ ever  _ in his entire life has he mouthed off to a superior like that. He’s a little bit surprised that his heart hasn’t exploded from all the adrenaline coursing through it. However, he also feels an immeasurable relief.

Now, to convince Itachi to agree, as well.

 

* * *

To be quite frank, Itachi looks like death.

Itachi has always been pale, but at the moment he’s positively bloodless.  The dark circles under his eyes give him an almost raccoon-ish look. The thin plastic tube  up his nose stands as a silent reminder of why he’s suddenly gotten so much thinner than normal.

“They warned you you’d need that thing if you didn’t start eating,” Kakashi scolds gently.

Itachi throws a dirty look in his direction.

“Not like it’d do me any good if I just threw it all back up again.”

The boy tucks his knees up to his chest and scowls.

“I want to go home.”

“It’ll be another two days at the most. Just be patient.”

Itachi lets out something approximating a whine.

“Hey, speaking of home-”

Kakashi takes his chance to steer the conversation toward a new topic, reaching for the folder of papers he’s set on the bedside table.

“Have you thought about where you’ll want ‘home’ to be after you get out?”

Itachi pulls a face. He fiddles with the fringe of his hair for the sake of having something to do with his hands.

“I- no. I haven’t.”

“Well-”

Kakashi moves in a fraction of an inch closer.

“Since Sasuke’s already been with me the last week- how about you just come join us?”

The boy’s dark eyes grow wide.

“You’re kidding-”

“-It’d be a bit cramped for the time being, but I’ve already been looking at bigger places we can move to. If you’re okay with that, anyway.”

Itachi falls silent for a moment, wringing his hands while he contemplates the offer.

“...Has Sasuke been happy with you?” he asks, in a tone that almost sounds like a warning.

“As happy as he could be, with what happened,” Kakashi answers, truthfully.

Itachi falls quiet again.

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to. But you’re still young, and I wouldn’t feel right sending you and your brother out on your own.”

“I’m-”

Itachi looks at the papers, then at his hands, then back to Kakashi.

“...If it’ll be good for Sasuke, I’ll go too.”

He takes the paperwork, and the pen at the bedside table, and scribbles his name in a few places.

“This’ll be fine, right?” 

“That’s the only thing you needed to worry about. Just let me handle the rest.”

Itachi nods.

Kakashi puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

“I’m not gonna lie and say everything’s gonna be okay. But we’ll do our best, alright?”

Itachi doesn't seem particularly comforted, but he offers up a smile for Kakashi’s sake.

“Yeah.”

(he wishes he had even an ounce of Kakashi’s confidence.)

 

* * *

“What did you  _ do? _ ”

Danzo doesn't even bother to look up at Hiruzen, pretending to be absorbed in paperwork.

“Would you rather have lost such a valuable asset to the village?” he asks, in a curt, matter-of-fact way. “This way he can stay where he belongs, and we don’t have to worry about him accidentally spilling the truth about what happened.”

“But what if he remembers?! What happens then?”

“He won’t remember. I made sure of that.”

“How can you be so sure?!”

“When have I ever failed before?”

Hiruzen has no retort.

“I told you it will be fine,” Danzo continutes, scribbling his signature onto a few documents. “You’ve entrusted me with these sorts of matters for years. What’s one more?”

Hiruzen rubs his temples in annoyed defeat.

“Just make  _ sure  _ he never remembers. You know what will happen if he does.”

“I’m well aware.”

Danzo finally bothers to lift his eye upward.

“If he ever happens to remember, he’ll be dealt with the same as his clansmen. I’ll see to that.”

Hiruzen wisely decides not to question what that means.

Anxiety gnaws at him while he leaves Danzo’s office, following him all the way back to his own. He can’t shake the image of Itachi’s haunted, bloodless face, the terror in his black eyes. Can’t get away from the echoes of his panicked screaming, the heartrending pleas for a mother and father who can’t comfort him any longer.

(And oh, how poor Sasuke had  _ howled.,  _ trying to throw himself at the doctors eliciting all of Itachi’s pained cries.  **_“What’re you doing?! Stop it! You’re hurting him! That’s my brother STOP IT!”_ ** He’d been utterly inconsolable for hours, thrashing against Kakashi’s grip until he’d exhausted himself at last.)

But that part’s over now- Itachi will survive his injuries. Now, Itachi will be one of only two Uchiha left alive. And the poor child will never even know he did it.

Is that for the best? Sarutobi isn’t sure.

But Uchiha Itachi is nothing if not resilient. He’s always been able to come back from any situation he’s been placed in. Surely this will be no different.

(one can only hope.)

 

* * *

“Hey Sasuke, I got a present for ya!”

Sasuke’s head jerks upward, his hand freezing on Bisuke’s belly.

Itachi pushes Kakashi’s arm off his shoulder, mumbling “I can walk,” under his breath.

Immediately, Sasuke’s wide, dark eyes flood with tears. He stands up slowly, like he can’t quite believe the sight before him.

“Niisan-”

Itachi holds his arms out, taking a few wobbly steps forward.

“I’m here, Sasuke-”

The younger boy leaps forward, throwing himself into his brother’s arms. He muffles his sobs in Itachi’s shirt, clinging to him like he never wants to let go.

“Niisan-” he wails. “Niisan- Niisan, you’re okay-”

Despite the pain Sasuke is causing by clinging to him, Itachi smiles and hugs his brother back.

“Shh, yeah, I’m okay. It’s gonna be okay now.”

“Never leave me again!” Sasuke demands, glowering up at Itachi. “I’ll never forgive you if you do!”

Itachi manages to laugh, in spite of everything.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assures his little brother. 

“Promise me!”

Gingerly, Itachi gets down on his knees; Kakashi keeps a careful eye to see if he’s hurting himself too much.

Itachi hooks his pinky finger around Sasuke’s, and puts on a faux-serious expression.

“I promise, Sasuke. I’m not gonna leave ever again.”

Sasuke can’t hide the tremor in his lower lip, despite his best effort.

“Niisan- what if- what if whoever did-”

He wipes his eyes on his shirtsleeve, but it does nothing to stem the flow of tears.

“-What if they come after us again? What’re we gonna do?”

Itachi’s warm smile falls, replaced by a look of steely-eyed determination. He pulls Sasuke close to him, cradling his head in the crook of his arm.

“I’ll protect you no matter what, Sasuke. If anyone ever tries to hurt you, I’ll kill them. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Sasuke hugs his older brother tightly, hiding his face against Itachi’s shoulder.

They stay like that until Buru strolls over to them, nudges them apart with his massive head, and licks a long, wet streak up the entire right side of Itachi’s face. Then knocks him over to continue licking him.

“H-hey!” Itachi squeals, trying vainly to shove the enormous dog off him. 

“Buru likes Niisan!” Sasuke giggles, through his hiccups.

“You gotta get all the way better before you go around killing people,” Kakashi says, through his laughter. “How about we get something to eat instead of plotting revenge?”

Itachi takes advantage of Buru’s distraction to push him away and sit upright.

“I want dango,” he says, without hesitation.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow.

“Me too! Me too!” Sasuke chirps.

“Alright, I guess I’m outvoted,” Kakashi mutters, pretending to be disappointed. “You two sit tight, I’ll go get you your dango- gimme ten minutes, alright?”

Itachi uses Buru as leverage to push himself back onto his feet.

“There’s extra futon stuff in the closet down the hall. You can set that up and chill out if you want.”

Itachi nods, and follows Urushi down the hall to retrieve the bedding.

“I wanna go with you!” Sasuke pouts.

“Nah, someone’s gotta stay here and make sure your brother is alright- I trust you.”

Sasuke frowns, but he obeys.

 

“Why couldn’t you eat like this in the hospital?”

Itachi swallows down a mouthful of dango, looking annoyed that he’s been interrupted.

“Because hospital food is disgusting,” he grimaces.

“You couldn’t even just choke it down?” Kakashi asks, more teasing than anything.

“I’d rather starve.”

“You almost did.”

Sasuke frowns.

“Niisan, you need to eat,” he scolds, taking on a serious tone that’s absolutely comical coming from such a small child.

“I’m eating now,” Itachi answers.

“But you can’t just eat sweets all the time! You’ll rot your teeth!”

Kakashi laughs, but Itachi doesn't. 

(Those are the exact words their mother always used to admonish him when he was being a fussy eater. In that same tone of voice, too.)

“...Did I do something wrong?” Sasuke murmurs.

Itachi struggles to perk himself back up.

“You’re fine, Sasuke. I’m just- I’m just tired, okay?”

Sasuke makes a small sound of understanding. Kakashi continues to nurse his cup of green tea, contemplating what he’s just gotten himself into.

How did he wind up sitting around his kitchen table with a couple kids he’d never intended to bring into this apartment that’s far too small to accomodate all these people.

Well. He’ll just have to take this as it comes. That’s what he’s good at, right?

**Author's Note:**

> To those who were hoping for one of my other WIPs to get updated- I'm so sorry. My mental health has been not-great. Consider this a warm up while I get back in the saddle.


End file.
